Picos de Europa small group walking holiday, Spain
Single room supplement: 140 Euro.
Description of Picos de Europa small group walking holiday, Spain
Walk the spectacular Picos de Europa mountain range in Spain on this small group walking holiday. Rising up inland from the north coast, these mountains were named after ships arriving from America used them as a landmark – The Peaks of Europe! Stretching across the regions of Asturias, Cantabria, and Castile and León, these limestone massifs have been sculpted over thousands of years by glaciation and weather into dramatic, striking peaks.
There is excellent walking to enjoy here, and we have designed this trip to give you a great introduction to this beautiful mountain range, walking some of the best bits! We walk through the Eastern and Central massifs, with the option to use the El Cable (cable car) at Fuente De to gain 850m and trim out one ascent. We walk straight over the Eastern massif below the foot of Naranjo de Bulnes peak to the beautiful village of Sotres. We also walk to Bulnes. Until 2001, this tiny village had no transport links, but now a funicular train connects it to the main road, which you can use to get down to Poncebos. Another highlight is walking the Cares Gorge, which separates the central and western massifs. It is 1.5km deep with a stunning path running along the water canal that feeds two hydro-electric stations.
This beautiful, wild landscape is home to about 150 Cantabrian brown bears, a tiny population of grey wolves living in the more remote regions and Cantabria chamois, which you may see. There were reportedly 8,000 sightings in 2008.
After each day’s walking, relax in the good quality, family run hotels that we have chosen for this trip, each serving great local food. All the rooms are ensuite. We use local taxi drivers and your luggage is transferred for you between each hotel. All breakfasts and evening meals are included, as well as lunches on walk days. We can collect you from Santander or Bilbao airport.
Price information
Single room supplement: 140 Euro.
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Reviews
2 Reviews of Picos de Europa small group walking holiday, Spain
Reviewed on 20 Sep 2018 by Viktoria Rashnilov
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Reviewed on 15 Jun 2017 by Joy Field
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The raw beauty of the rugged Picos on a blue sky spring day is a breath taking experience. The towering bluffs, deep gorges, verdant alpine meadows and the pretty mountain villages nestled in the valleys was a sensory delight.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Would recommend sturdy walking boots a walking pole and a good level of fitness. Binoculars, to more closely observe the many bird soaring above the high peaks, may be worth considering.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Local food and accommodation providers certainly benefited from our patronage. Our walks had minimal impact on the environment as we utilized existing tracks and stock routes.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Excellent. A variety of treks in and around the Picos each provided their own challenges and rewards. We were blessed with great weather in which to appreciate fully the stunning scenery. Comfortable village accommodation and access to local and traditional foods - think blue cheeses and sidra! - further enhanced each days activities.
Dan, our experienced guide tailored our walks each day to suit the weather conditions and our groups circumstances, which was appreciated by all. His good humor and quick wit and the great company of our fellow walkers has ensured that we will never forget time in the Picos.
Responsible Travel
Planet
We are serious about maintaining the natural beauty of the Picos De Europa region and always ensure that the environmental impacts of our activities are kept to a minimum throughout the week.Our transport throughout the week is kept to an absolute minimum, with our feet being the preferred choice of transport.
We include in our walk packs flora and fauna guides to increase the awareness of the environment and cultural guides to make the walker aware of the local customs and traditions.
We encourage the use of filling your own to water bottle throughout the week to reduce the waste.
Last but not least, as hikers by passion, we have a strong ethic about respecting the places we go to and their environment, either for business or personally (e.g: not leaving any rubbish behind us during a day walk or using reusable water containers), and we encourage our guests to act responsibly while traveling.
People
As on all our holidays there is no exception in the Picos De Europa walking holiday. We work with local knowledgeable people and reserve your holiday direct with local family run hotels. We always use local transport for our baggage moves and airport transfers. This helps the local community survive as it is mainly cut off during the winter seasons.We always recommend local bars or restaurants were you are walking through a village around lunchtime or 11’s for a café con leche. All these little things help these very small communities survive and keep their traditions.
The hotels we use are all employers of local people, we don’t use chains! We do inspect the hotels regularly to keep the standards we expect.
The route on this walking holiday stays in some very traditional villages with some excellent local produce to try and we thoroughly recommend to try it!
We always send a phrase sheet before you arrive . The older generations in the small villages do not speak English and we find just having the bare basics will make your holiday a much more enjoyable one and help the villagers understand you.
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